U-40 drying

[waymont]

I have a jar that is about 4 years old that seems to be drying up a bit.

It's become pretty thick, and difficult to spread. Anyone ever add a little water to it, and shake it up since it's water soluble?

[FrnkNsteen]

Never tryed it, but worth a shot rather than pitching it in the trash. See if it thins back out or remains chunky.

 

If chunky, or looks like the consiatency of curdled milk,,. I'd toss it rather than putting on a rod handle.

[Mike L]

I would just ask the manufacture if you need to salvage it. 
 If you dilute it to get the consistency you want, you’ll still be diluting it’s effectiveness 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[swhit140]

I always keep mine in the house, I've had issues keeping it in the garage with the varying temperatures.

[TimTheGearNerd]

I’m having the same problem. It’s still relatively spreadable and dries clear. If you have good results. Please report back. 

[thunderblack]

Mine lasted 4 years before needing to be replaced due to drying out. 

[scbassin]

Nuke it for 10 to 15 seconds then stir it.

[Big-Bass]

I have had mine for a few years in the garage but keep the lid closed tightly and so far it has been good to go.

[Tackleholic]

Duuuhhhh....what is U-40?

[Mike L]

3 minutes ago, Tackleholic said:

Duuuhhhh....what is U-40?

Cork sealer 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[waymont]

I tried the U-40 I added water to on the fore grip of a new rod.

The coverage seems the same, but it doesn't seem to have made the cork as dark or as "hard" as it usually would. You guys who use it know what I mean by hard. Also it doesn't have as much shine as usual. So it seems like adding water makes it a little less effective to me. Although I haven't used it out on the water yet.

[WRB]

Don’t use sealers. Soap and water or Magic Eraser is I use.

Tom

[waymont]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

Don’t use sealers. Soap and water or Magic Eraser is I use.

Tom

Nope, it works great. 

[WRB]

45 minutes ago, waymont said:

Nope, it works great. 

Then use it!

[waymont]

26 minutes ago, WRB said:

Then use it!

of course I do. ?

[Tackleholic]

Tom is right.  One Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pad will quickly and easily clean at least a dozen cork handles;  wipe them off with a damp cloth when finished.

[ATA]

Just toss it and get new one please. Not worth destroying a good cork.

[J._Bricker]

 I had some U-40 that turned to gelatin like consistency, probably due to my storing it in the garage. I stirred in a little distilled water and it seemed to work sealing the cork of my just purchased Expride as if it was a jar that was just opened.
 At the beginning of the pandemic one of my projects was cleaning up my cork rod handles. I filled in the divots, sanded with fine grain sandpaper/ Emory paper and sealed the handles with U-40 which I hadn’t used before. All the cork filler has remained intact which I believe is due to musing the U-40 to seal it. 
 Regarding the use of those magic erasers on rod handles, I noticed their use would start to accentuate the rings of cork that the handles were made of and gave the cork handle a wavy feel. 
 Just my thoughts and observations regarding my tackle, YMMV.

[waymont]

21 hours ago, Tackleholic said:

Tom is right.  One Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pad will quickly and easily clean at least a dozen cork handles;  wipe them off with a damp cloth when finished.

Cleaning has nothing to do with sealing, and protecting the cork. Cleaning doesn't protect from filler coming out, or the cork being less prone to chipping.

[waymont]

On 12/16/2022 at 11:14 AM, TimTheGearNerd said:

I’m having the same problem. It’s still relatively spreadable and dries clear. If you have good results. Please report back. 

So I received a new jar of U-40 the other day, and tried it next to the one I added water to. The old one with added water is the same exact consistency as the new one, but it doesn't work very well. So I am saying that adding water to old dried U-40 doesn't work 100%, but seems to kind of work a little.

[Tatulatard]

On 12/19/2022 at 1:20 PM, waymont said:

Cleaning has nothing to do with sealing, and protecting the cork. Cleaning doesn't protect from filler coming out, or the cork being less prone to chipping.

Agree.  Unsealed cork is disgusting and full of holes from filler falling out.  Clean, fill and seal.